In Their Words: Monroe native builds empire on determination, luck

Donald Hunter may not have officially been voted most likely to succeed at Monroe-Woodbury High School, but the 42-year-old is an example of a hometown boy done good.

Sheldon Scruggs

Donald Hunter may not have officially been voted most likely to succeed at Monroe-Woodbury High School, but the 42-year-old is an example of a hometown boy done good:

I am the CEO and president of Westrock Group and Westrock Advisors in New York City. We provide financial advice to public and private companies. We offer a full range of investment-banking products including equity, fixed income, research and corporate finance. But let me tell you how I got here.

I grew up in Monroe, and I graduated from Monroe-Woodbury High School in 1985. I played football. As good as the team is now, it was that good during my playing days as well. I played baseball and basketball, too.

My dad owned his own construction company, and I got an idea of what it was like to run a business from observing him. After high school, I went to Colgate University in Hamilton. At first, I majored in economics, but I found the professors boring. I switched to psychology, and that's what I got my degree in when I graduated in 1989.

But what can you do with a psychology degree? So I ventured into the business world, and the capital of that world is, of course, Wall Street. I received on-the-job training with firms like Drexel, Burnham, Lambert. This was before it was sold to Smith-Barney. I worked at other major investment houses, too, including Oppenheimer & Co. and Shearson Lehman.

With a lot of determination and luck, I started Westrock in 1995. I had my own business just as my father had his. He passed away in 2000, but I know he would be proud of me.

Since this is my business, I'm involved in every area of day-to-day business operations. As a company, we've done well handling the mutual funds of some major players, both individuals and firms. But businesses are, by definition, entities that make money. A few years ago, I was approached with an idea that would create the potential for Westrock's growth to rocket off the charts.

Three years ago, an Indian tribe from South Dakota called the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe contacted me with the notion of purchasing my company. It was an interesting idea, and I'll tell you why in a nutshell. There are monetary advantages to being associated with a minority-owned business these days. By law, corporations cannot ignore them. It's a kind of affirmative action program that goes on in the business world. Further, state and federal governments must give a certain percentage of their investment contracts to minority corporations. All this adds up to a lot of dollars for Westrock and the tribe.

This Indian tribe is not the richest in the country. But as a corporation, it's doing all right for itself. Last year, it made $22 million that it generated from its tourism, restaurant and casino business, and other investments. And, as with all Indian tribes, it gets certain tax breaks from the government.

So in September, my company was bought by this Sioux tribe and it became our parent company. And business is stunning. Our tribal financial-services group has maintained its equities and options in the United States. But we have broadened our international trade with markets in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

We also provide financial services to other tribes throughout the country. We formed a community development entity to help tribes deploy new market tax credits and to provide loans to tribal entrepreneurs. We also advise tribal entities on how to pursue government contracts.

I still retain my position at Westrock, only I have people to answer to now. But it's all good; even on the home front. My wife, Erica, and I live in Connecticut, and we're working on starting a family. New beginnings are everywhere.

I'm proud of what I've done, and happy to be associated with American Indians. Once, the ancestors of the people I work for were treated very poorly by our federal government. Now things have changed. And I'm a part of that change; it's progress.

It's ironic to think that Wall Street got its name from a literal wall that was built long ago to keep Dutch settlers separated from the Indians. Now the Indians are one of the major players on the block.

Sheldon Scruggs profiles people in unique professions and odd jobs. He can be reached at sscruggs@th-record.com. In Their Words appears Sundays.

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